By Peter Kendall (kendall@welfarelaw.org
The Blade was created by a Marauder named Lyle Menson. Lyle was a metallurgist, a man without a trace of Magick or even imagination until his Avatar was traumatically activated late in life. Lyle's Awakening and madness both began when his wife was killed by a drunk driver. He sank into a deep depression which progressed to a violent schizophrenia when the judge, a closet alcoholic himself, found the driver innocent of all but the most minor of the charges against him. Lyle was visited by a being he believed to be the spirit of his wife that told him how to escape his pain. This was his Avatar, which directed him to forge the Blade from all the physical reminders of his loss. His wife's clothing, photographs, books, and other belongings fueled the fire he set in his living room. Her jewelry, gardening tools, and picture frames were melted in the cauldron. When he was done, there was no trace left of their life together -- or of the apartment building they had lived in. The man who killed his wife was the knife's first victim, of course, but there have been many others since.
In most respects the Blade acts as a mundane knife, in spite of its unusual composition. On inanimate objects it is no better than any kitchen knife. Its true nature is revealed when it is used as a weapon. It cannot physically cut a living being, but instead passes through flesh leaving no visible mark. Every such use invokes a powerful Mind/Time rote, however. The victim is convinced that the affected part of the body has been severely wounded, and that the wound in fact occurred in the far past. A cut hand appears to the victim to have been long amputated, and in fact he will have detailed and painful memories of the childhood accident that caused it. A cut to the eyes will leave him certain that he is blind, possibly from birth. In all cases, it will be nearly impossible to convince him that the affected part is actually whole as the memory of a lifetime of pain and disability will be powerful and thoroughly compelling. A fatal injury from the Blade will leave its victim in a coma, believing that he is dead. These effects must be considered vulgar if there is an observer.
The Blade can be used as a normal Talisman as well, though all of its effects, however intended, end up causing both caster and recipient pain of some sort. Any Mage finding the Blade should be aware of its other drawback. Although Lyle often drops his weapon in a fit of remorse, he always comes seeking it sooner or later.